


all worth it

by deathtouch



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - BDSM, Blackwatch Era, Dom/sub, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 10:22:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19944592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathtouch/pseuds/deathtouch
Summary: ☛ written for themcgenji eventsmcgenji week 2019| day 2 - proving them wrongAt fancy ass events like these, subs were expected to 'act like subs'. They didn't get seats at the table, they knelt on pillowed cushions on the floor. They weren't offered food, they were expected to sit and look pretty.Whoever had invited Gabe to this just wanted to see the commander on his knees with his mouth shut. They probably didn't even know that Genji was a sub too. If they did know then that just made it worse.





	all worth it

"Absolutely not." Jesse slammed his hands down on the conference table, leaning forward all at once. "We're not going!"

Gabriel just looked at him, unmoved by Jesse's anger. His expression was solemn and reserved. It seemed wrong that he was so calm, so collected, so resigned to all this. He should be angry too. As angry as Jesse was, if not angrier. Jesse's eyes fell to the black collar circled around Gabe's throat, the one that marked him as a sub. He had more of a reason to be pissed off. Except he just sat there, looking at them, waiting for them to say yes.

"No!" Jesse reiterated, because maybe he hadn't been clear enough when he'd shouted that they weren't going.

Gabriel glanced towards Genji. He said nothing, just looked at him. Waited.

“Fine," Genji agreed wearily.

That snapped up Jesse's attention real quick. "Are y'all nuts?" He asked. "Just because someone told you to jump, don't mean you gotta ask how high. Tell'em to go fuck themselves, that's what I say. Shit. They ain't even asking us to jump. They want us to roll over, and play nice. Do tricks."

Blackwatch's existence, necessary as it was, had always ruffled feathers with the higher-ups. For all the dirty work they wanted done, they sure hated having their hands dirty. They held Blackwatch to impossibly high standards, and came down hard on the simplest mistakes. Sometimes Jesse wondered if it was because they didn't like Blackwatch, or that they didn't like a sub being in charge.

Blackwatch’s latest 'mistake' hadn't even been that bad. Their mission had taken them into the city of Paradise. Paradise, unlike its name, was a politically unstable hot zone deemed off limits by officials. And yeah, they went in anyway knowing full well it was off limits but they did it for the right reasons and that was what mattered. No one had gotten killed, no civilians were involved, and there was no destruction of property. Blackwatch had gotten in, gotten the job done, and gotten back out again.

No one would have known they were even there if it weren't for Genji, and to be entirely fair it wasn't his fault. The reason Paradise was a politically unstable hot zone was because of ongoing resentment from the Omnic Crisis and all bots were banned from the city limits to prevent civil unrest. 

All it took was one small slip. Someone had caught sight of Genji's cybernetic parts. Then, somehow, word had gotten back that Blackwatch broke local laws or betrayed the agreed upon statutes of the city or some such bullshit.

Gabriel spent almost an hour on the phone taking the heat for something Genji shouldn't and couldn't be blamed for. Now they had to kowtow to the higher-ups to smooth everything over. The presence of Blackwatch's strike team been had been requested at a UN function; some kind of high class aristocratic dinner where they were expected to sit and dine with the bloated fat heads who thought they ran things.

It was all played off like this was a nice opportunity where Gabe could introduce his agents and let everyone know how fine and competent they all were. Except it wasn't nice at all. At fancy ass events like these, subs were expected to 'act like subs'. They didn't get seats at the table, they knelt on pillowed cushions on the floor. They weren't offered food, they were expected to sit and look pretty.

Whoever had invited Gabe to this just wanted to see the commander on his knees with his mouth shut. They probably didn't even know that Genji was a sub too. If they did know then that just made it worse.

"Darlin'," Jesse went soft. He reached out for Genji's shoulder, squeezed it affectionately, stroked his thumb back and forth over Genji's collarbone. "You don't gotta do this." 

It wasn't right. Gabe and Genji shouldn't have to subject themselves to any kind of treatment they didn't want to. Kneeling, submitting in public, serving as a companion for a Dom... these things should be intimate. Special. Not something to be used against them.

"It's fine," Genji said again. This was the fastest way for Blackwatch to get back into good graces and he knew it.

"Shit. Fine." Jesse finally relented. "Okay, I'll come to."

* * *

It was almost time to leave and head down to the banquet hall for dinner. Jack Morrison, Overwatch’s strike commander, had sprung for unreasonably expensive rooms for them in the same hotel as the UN event. Ostensibly the rooms were to dress and get ready in but they were also clearly meant as consolation. He didn’t say it himself, but the massive king bed and breathtaking view from the balcony window said ‘sorry you got dragged into bureaucracy bullshit’ all in their own.

Instead of hopping directly on a flight back to Overwatch’s base of operations, they would spend the night here. They had already ordered room service, a nice big meal for Genji since he wouldn’t be eating at the dinner. Jesse planned on coming back and racking up an even bigger bill later on, especially if Overwatch was paying. He was gonna raid the mini bar, buy some champagne, and order a decadent dessert or ten.

They just had to actually make it through the evening first.

“I got you something,” Jesse said, trying to keep the nervous edge from his voice.

Genji glanced over at him, eyebrow raised. He was fixing the cuffs of his dress shirt, making sure they were folded up all nice. His eyes fell to the plain white gift box in Jesse’s hands. Its shape and size probably gave away its contents, not many things were kept in a box like this. Still, he seemed curious, like he couldn’t possibly guess what this might be.

“You got me something?”

“Yeah, I was thinking, you know.” Jesse had it all planned out what he wanted to say.

He wanted to say how much he liked Genji, how good it felt that they could trust one another, and how honored he was that Genji was willing to let him in. Even if it had taken time and been hard at first. He wanted to say that while theirs was a relationship of circumstance what they had was still real. They were good together. Meant for each other. He wanted to say how much he cared about Genji, and how much he wanted Genji to be his.

Except he just gestured awkwardly with the box before handing it over. “You don’t gotta wear it if you don’t want...”

Genji lifted the lid to reveal a sleek black collar underneath. It was thick, with a shiny patent leather exterior and lined with plush white wool. It wasn’t the most expensive collar in the world, and unfortunately there hadn’t been time for Jesse to get it personalized in any way. It was one he genuinely thought Genji would like. One he would look good in. That had to count for something.

Genji just kept staring at it. Didn’t say anything. Swallowed audibly once but that was it. Jesse fought the urge to keep talking, to back track, to say something stupid. ‘It’s just for tonight,’ or ‘it don’t really mean anything,’ because he didn’t want it to be just for tonight. He wanted Genji to wear his collar every day from now on. It would mean a lot to him if he did.

“Put it on me?” Genji asked.

A huge wave of relief washed over Jesse, and he offered a warm smile. “Of course.”

He helped take off the plain black collar clipped around Genji’s neck. It was one of the standard ones that were issued to all the subs in both Blackwatch and Overwatch. Personal collars were allowed and most submissive agents wore those instead. In the case that a sub didn’t have a Dom, and therefore no personal collar, they would need to wear the standard issue one as a signifier. It was subtle and unobtrusive but severely plain. Jesse was more than happy to switch out the standard issue one for his own.

He wrapped the shiny leather collar around Genji’s neck and buckled it carefully into place. He tried and failed to ignore the thrill of pleasure he got when he saw it resting against Genji’s throat. It stood out against the mechanical parts and his pale flesh. It was perfect.

“...Looks good on you.” He said after a moment, mouth dry. He nodded towards the full length mirror mounted on the wall.

Genji went to go look.

* * *

They met Jack and Gabe in the elevator bank. Jack looked as handsome and well dressed as always because of course he did. This was his bread and butter. He spent more time shaking hands, making nice with important people and going to events like these than he did leading strike teams anymore. That wasn’t to say he couldn’t, he was still as tremendously competent as he’d ever been. It was just that out of all of them he was the only one suited for the situation.

Gabe, on the other hand, was a hell of a sight to see. Not because he looked out of place, but just because he looked so damn good. Jesse was sure he’d seen Gabe in a suit before. He didn’t always wear black hoodies and tactical armor. Hell, they had been on missions to Monaco and Oasis together where formal attire had practically been a requirement. It was just that no past memory could compare to this. 

He was wearing a personal collar too, navy blue to match Jack’s suit jacket. Jesse was momentarily jealous that he didn’t think to match Genji’s collar to his own clothes.

Gabe nodded at Genji who nodded back and Jesse got the sense that some kind is secret sub conversation had just taken place between them. So he nodded at Jack who nodded at him and when they were all done nodding, he pushed the button to call the elevator.

“If you need to leave early for any reason, I’ll cover for you.” Jack told Genji as soon as they were inside the elevator and traveling down to the banquet hall.

“It’s fine,” Genji said darkly.

Jesse reached for Genji’s hand and squeezed it. He had said more or less the same thing upstairs; went to stand behind Genji as he admired his new collar in the mirror, put his warm hands on Genji’s shoulders and told him “Just say the word, and I’ll take you out of there,” in case the performative submission became too much.

Genji had caught his eyes in the mirror and said “Nothing about this evening could possibly be any worse than formal dinners with my family.”

And that was that on that.

When the elevator doors opened they were met with a lavish looking hallway, wallpaper patterned in baroque designs. There were dignitaries standing around sipping alcohol from saucer shaped champagne glasses like the pretentious bastards they were. Jesse had to push down the immediate urge to roll his eyes and scoff.

He had grown up dirt poor and spent his whole life scraping by. Joining the Deadlock Gang had been a necessity. It was the only way to make something more for himself out there in the Gorge. Back then the highest he could ever possibly aspire to was leagues lower than these people. Even if he had become leader of the gang, the absolute top of the food chain around those parts, he would still just be a spec of dirt in comparison.

Through sheer dumb luck he had risen miles and miles above his station. He no longer considered himself dirt poor or just scraping by but instead saw himself as a productive member of society and a military asset. Even with this new found status he still felt out of place at Overwatch sometimes because of all the obnoxious Westpoint types.

They acted like they were so much better at being a soldier than him because they got shuttled off to some academy when they were sixteen. Suddenly none of those Westpoint assholes seemed so bad. Jesse would give anything to be back at the mess shoveling grub in his face with them instead of here at this banquet hall for this ritzy UN affaire.

Jack seemed to know where he was going, so Jesse just walked alongside him. Genji and Gabriel trailed a step behind. If Jesse thought the hallway was lavish, the banquet hall was like a knock out punch of frivolous opulence. He tried not to tip his head up and gape at the fancy architecture of the ceiling, or the damn huge ass chandelier. Oh wait, no. Chandeliers. Multiple.

There was a table waiting for them with little reserved cards marking their places. Jack Morrison, and his sub. Jesse McCree, and his sub. Didn’t even bother with Genji or Gabe’s names. Jesse tried not to let it get him hot but of course he was mad about it.

Genji and Gabe didn’t have real seats either. Instead of chairs, there were pillows placed on the floor. They didn’t even look comfortable, they just looked decorative. For Genji it didn’t especially matter, with his cybernetic parts it wouldn’t bother him too much either way. It was the principal of the thing, though.

Without a chair for Jesse to pull out, he took Genji by the hand and pulled him close instead. “Darlin’, would you do me the honor of kneeling by my side this evening.”

Genji’s expression went from implacable to vaguely amused, easily charmed by Jesse. Jack laughed a little too, smirking and shaking his head. People at the next table over had turned to look at them, blinking with confused expressions on their faces.

It wasn’t until Jesse noticed a sub quietly and discreetly folding herself down onto her knees across the room that it occurred to him he was bringing unnecessary attention to the simple act of kneeling. Yeah, well, fuck'em. Genji deserved to be charmed, not ignored.

Jesse held onto his hand, steadying him all the way down, and even bent low to kiss Genji’s knuckles when he was finally on his knees. Only then did he pull his own chair out and sit down.

It went kind of okay for a little while after that. Jack talked to him. He mostly complained about work. It was cool that they were on close enough terms that the strike commander felt comfortable chatting with him like this. Jesse complained about work too, mostly about Moira. She should be here with the rest of them, but had somehow managed to weasel her way out of it.

A few people came over to say hi or introduce themselves to Jack. Just short conversations that Jesse sometimes took part in and sometimes didn’t. He found himself reaching for Genji beside him, stroking his hair, smiling down at him. “Doin’ okay?” He asked once, and Genji just nodded.

It was only when the rest of the table guests arrived that things started to get interesting. Technically no one was in a higher command position than Jack Morrison was, but even he had people to answer to. One of them being a weaselly little shrimp of a man named Axel who worked as a UN liaison. He was like a metatron to the UNs Gods. He was also insufferable.

“Jack.” He shook Jack’s hand and instead of saying hello to Gabriel he added, “I see you’ve brought Gabe with you.”

“Of course,” Jack nodded. “His presence was specifically requested, but the only reason he’s here is because I brought him with me. I mean. What kind of man would I be if I left my sub at home to run a military organization like Blackwatch instead of taking him out to dinner so that he can kneel quietly beside me?” He said it all so smoothly, so sincerely, that the sarcasm was almost too subtle to pick up. Jack was good at this game, he’d been playing it a long time.

Axel didn’t quite know what to say to that. He glanced awkwardly towards Gabe who met his glance with a hard stare. Gabriel Reyes looked more powerful and dangerous kneeling than most men did standing. Axel was smart to hurriedly look away.

Jack moved on and introduced Jesse. Jesse said howdy and shook his hand too. Axel’s sub, a younger guy who was much too pretty for his Dom, quietly knelt down beside him while this went on. Then Axel leaned all the way over the table to stick his nose over the side and size up Genji.

“Ah, and you must be the Omnic they snuck passed Paradise city’s boarders.”

Genji’s eyebrow twitched. If Jesse didn’t have a hand on him, stroking his hair, keeping him calm ole Axel here would be a dead man.

“Now, I hate to ask,” Jesse said, “But would you be so kind as to ask permission before addressing my sub? This being a formal occasion and all, I’d sure appreciate it.”

Axel sat back in his seat, a little surprised but also understanding. Technically it /was/ polite to ask a Dom permission to speak to their sub. No one really did that anymore, though. Not unless they were in situations exactly like this one; a fancy ass party full of rich people following dumb ass etiquette rules.

“Of course. Do I have your permission to speak t-“

“No.” Jesse interrupted quickly. “You don’t.”

Before Axel could get too offended, the final two table guests arrived. A UN official named Barrow and his sub. Barrow was a representative from the country that Paradise city was in. Jack stood up to greet him and gave him a firm handshake so Jesse did too. Again, Gabriel was ignored. Genji only received a mildly disinterested glance.

Barrow’s sub was insanely tall, easily over six feet to begin with and then strapped into a pair of ridiculously high heels. Jesse was already standing so he reached out a hand to steady her, offering his arm for her to hold as she sank to her knees. It wasn’t unlike what he’d done for Genji, except a tad less romantic and with none of the knuckle kissing. She flashed Jesse a grateful look.

Barrow flashed him a glare. Oh, he didn’t like that. It was funny because Jesse wasn’t even doing anything wrong. He was just being polite. These rich assholes thought they were gentlemen just because of their nice clothes and money. Here Jesse was showing them all what a real gentleman looked like.

Thankfully someone got up on a podium at the head of the room and started talking over a loud speaker after that, offering distraction. They gave an especially unremarkable speech about their organization and why they were all gathered here tonight and whatever, whatever, blah blah blah. The most important thing was that after that the food was served.

Jesse had already stuffed his face with Genji upstairs so he didn’t feel particularly inclined to eat anything. He offered Genji some of his food, though. As a fuck you to anyone who thought subs couldn’t eat at the same table as their Doms, or should just sit there silent and still. He held out his fork with a piece of fruit speared on the end, meaning for Genji to take the fork and eat off it. Except Genji looked up at him from under his lashes, leaned forward, and took the fruit with just his mouth. It was kinda hot. No, it was really hot.

“Lord, you are something else,” Jesse said with a fond groan, leaning down deep to give Genji a kiss.

People at other tables kept glancing over at them. Not because Jesse was a new face at a function like this, or because his sub had cybernetic parts. They were staring because he had deigned to acknowledge the existence of his sub. Because he actually cared about and appreciated the person he was with and wasn’t afraid to show it.

During dinner, Barrow took his opportunity to strike with the hard hitting question he had obviously been waiting to ambush Jack Morrison with. “So, Commander Morrison,” Barrow said, precisely cutting a piece of steak in a near perfect square like a fucking psychopath. “Would you like to tell me the details as to why your black ops division was conducting business, potentially with Omnics, in Paradise?”

“You know, I would, but that’s really more of a question for Blackwatch’s commander. He knows much more about it than I do.”

Barrow glared at him, annoyed that he was forced to then turn his attention to Gabriel. “Commander Reyes?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean now,” Jack added, feigning humility for being unclear. He stroked his fingers over Gabe’s head, through his short hair. “Subs are better seen, not heard. Wouldn’t you agree? You can submit a formal request for information at your earliest convenience.”

Jesse cracked, barely stifling a laugh. Barrow looked like he was about ready to blow his top.

Did they really think they could bring Jack and Gabe and Jesse and Genji here and humiliate them? Back them into a corner? Force them into literal and figurative submission? Hell no. It felt good to take all this stale, stuffy etiquette and decorum and shove it right back into these asshole’s faces.

It felt good to prove them wrong.

* * *

Jesse helped slide the suit jacket from Genji’s shoulders, tossing it thoughtlessly onto the bed. They had made it through the dinner alive and retired to their hotel room where Jesse ordered half the dessert menu just because he could. There was half eaten cheesecake sitting on the bedside table, chocolate mousse abandoned on the floor, creme brûlée cracked and sitting on the tv stand.

It being a nice night and all, they had thrown the balcony doors wide open. Humidity and a warm breeze came pouring in, fighting with the air conditioning. Even though they were several stories up, they could still hear the sounds of traffic down below. There was a plate of bread pudding sitting on the concrete balcony floor.

Somewhere between bites of the chocolate brownie lava cake and honey dipped baklava they had started taking off each other’s clothes. Jesse was down to just his briefs and he was working to catch Genji up, so they could be equally naked. He pressed sweet kisses to Genji’s jaw as he started in on the buttons of his button down shirt.

He kissed his way towards Genji’s neck thoughtlessly and paused when he got to the collar. He pulled back to look at it, to admire the way it shined in the lamp light. That same feeling from earlier returned. It was like he was looking at Genji wearing his collar for the first time all over again. A hot thrill ran right through him, possessive and pleased.

“Jesse?” Genji’s voice was quiet. Calm.

“Yes, darlin?”

Genji had been looking up at him, staring at his face, but now he glanced away. “Can I kneel for you?”

Jesse hesitated. It wasn’t like he was against the idea, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little confused. “You just spent the last two hours kneeling for me.” It was a statement, but he said it like a question.

Genji made a face. “That wasn’t for you. That was for... for everyone else. For everyone at that dinner, for Barrow and Axel. For Gabe, for Blackwatch. After everything I’ve done for other people, I think I deserve to do something for myself.”

It made perfect sense when he put it like that. Jesse leaned in to press a kiss to Genji’s lips. They tasted sweet, like the half dozen different desserts they’d eaten. “And this is what you want to do? For yourself?”

Genji nodded. “Yes. I want to kneel for my Dom.”

“Well. Alright then.” He tipped his head towards the side of the bed and went to go sit on the edge of the mattress. He held out his hand, beckoning Genji over. “Keel for me, baby.”

Genji did just that. He sank to his knees between Jesse’s legs, and it was like a sense of ease washed over him. Jesse didn’t realize how rigid and uncomfortable he’d been at dinner until he saw Genji here now, listing adorably to one side, resting his cheek against Jesse’s thigh.

Jesse ran his fingers through Genji’s soft black hair. The best thing to come out of this whole ordeal was this right here. It was all worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> send requests or prompts ➝ [here](https://curiouscat.me/deathtouch)  
> follow me on twitter ➝ [here](https://twitter.com/deathtouchxx)  
> thanks for reading ✩°｡⋆


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